He later added “US election is referendum on Obama, all else pretty minor.”

Murdoch’s shot at Romney’s “old friends” may have been directed at Romney’s close adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, who famously declared that Romney will erase his positions from the primaries “like an Etch a Sketch.” If that’s the case, then Murdoch presumably isn’t happy about Fehrnstom’s latest break from the party’s message, when he told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd that Romney does not believe that the individual mandate is a tax.

Although Murdoch doesn’t appear to be a big believer in Romney, Fox News has been in the former Massachusetts governor’s corner from day one. Romney has praised the network’s coverage of his campaign, and his top two rivals for the Republican nomination — Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum — both complained that Fox News was in the tank for Romney during the primaries.